Putin threatens to turn off the oil tap: “This will lead to catastrophic price increases”

It took some effort, but last week the G7 countries, the European Union and Australia reached an agreement on capping Russian oil prices. A barrel of crude oil can now pay a maximum of 60 USD. An amount slightly less than the current market value, which means that Moscow is not very concerned about its income at the moment. The Russian president said in a press conference at a regional summit in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek: “The maximum price is roughly equivalent to our price.”

Although he was very critical of the countries that signed the agreement. I have always said that we simply will not sell to countries that make such decisions. “We will consider cutting production,” he said. Concrete steps will be announced in a decree in the coming days. He warns that capping prices will lead to the collapse of the global oil industry. This will lead to a catastrophic rise in prices. This is a stupid and ill-conceived suggestion.”

Merkel’s betrayal

He also expressed his “disappointment” with an interview with former German chancellor Angela Merkel that appeared on Wednesday. that zeit. In it, she suggested that the Minsk agreements, which sealed peace between Russia and Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, were an attempt to “give Ukraine time” to better defend itself.

This statement looks like a betrayal, according to Putin, which makes it difficult to reach a negotiated peace now. “I’ve said it many times, but Russia is open to talks,” Putin said. “Trust is almost non-existent, but in the end we have to come to an agreement to stop this.”